Dark Counsels
by DreamGateProductions
Summary: This story takes place in the early years of Darth Bane's new line of Sith Lords. It begins as a pair of smugglers reach the dreaded prison planet of Caffar to drop off a load of food, only to find a very unusual surprise indeed...
1. Prologue

Star Wars - Dark Counsels

by Domien De Groot

Prologue

Like gems encrusted in a dark cave, the stars stood unwavering in the cold, unchanging dark of space. The millions of little dots of light shone quietly upon an uncaring, dark brown world, for on the planet of Caffar, there was no one to watch the stars. The planet was the farthest away from its system's star and the surface was so cold and forbidding that no known creature could hope to survive on it. However, Caffar was not uninhabited. Running over the northern hemisphere like a scar over the face of a grizzled soldier, was the great canyon known as Caffar's Abyss. There in the depths lay the entrance to the dreaded prisons of Caffar, a place where hope was nothing more than a memory to any who entered it.

Suddenly the quietness was disturbed as the flat, grey shape of a light freighter emerged out of hyperspace. The ship looked damaged and scorched in places, like it had just narrowly escaped from a fight...

"Well, here we are... " Lira sighed apprehensively. Her Twi'lek co-pilot didn't respond.

"Jorian?"

-"Lira, I'm not sure the _Sparrow_ can take the weather conditions down there after that last... encounter with Ullac's boys..."

"Come on, they hardly hit us!" Lira exclaimed in defence. Her ship, the _Soaring Sparrow_ was dear to her and she felt personally offended at the slightest criticism to it.

"Sometimes that's all it takes, I'm afraid" Jorian said in his typically cool way.

-"We're heading down there right away, Jorian. It's not like we have much of a choice, anyway" Lira replied, ending the discussion.

As the_ Soaring Sparrow _entered the atmosphere of Caffar and made for the Abyss, Lira noticed the communications light was flickering. She pushed the button and after the initial static noise, a metallic sounding voice was heard.

"Unidentified vessel, please state your identity".

-"Caffar prison, this is the _Soaring Sparrow _requesting permission to land!" Lira yelled.

Jorian frowned.

"Is it really necessary to be so loud?" he asked.

-"It will be until someone repairs the communications device..."

The _Soaring Sparrow_ slowly made for the deepest part of the Abyss, until it hovered over an enormous metal plate. The plate started moving and suddenly opened itself like a flower, shedding a cold blue light that reflected in a ghostly manner on the _Sparrow _and its surroundings.

The ship lowered itself and landed in a large, empty hangar. As soon as the freighter rested firmly on the ground, blowing steam from its exhausts, the hangar door above closed again with a dull thud.

"Well, at least we landed her safely" Jorian sighed, relieved. Lira ignored him and got out of the pilot's seat. A few moments later, the _Sparrow_'s ramp lowered as Lira and Jorian emerged out of the ship. Jorian surveyed the hangar.

"Shouldn't we be meeting someone here?"

-"They'll come, don't worry!"

"Quiet!" whispered Jorian hoarsely. He squinted, focussing on some distant sound.

Then he turned to Lira, his bright orange eyes wide with worry. "Blasters... and the hum of a lightsaber.."

Lira smiled incredulously. "A Jedi, here? That seems unlikely, my fr..."

She halted. Now she heard the sounds too. There was some kind of heavy fight going on, and a lightsaber was definitely involved.

All of a sudden a metal grate fell down before the two smugglers, making a hellish noise. Barely a moment later, a haggard looking Jedi followed, silent as a cat. As he touched the ground, he looked up and his gaze met with Lira's. The Jedi was an elderly man with striking, pleasant eyes and a grey ponytail. He smiled charmingly. "Hello there... Any room for a stowaway aboard your ship?"

-"Are you insane?" asked Lira, intending it as an actual question.

"No, just on the run. Please. Trust me."

Jorian frowned.

"This is ridiculous, Lira."

-"I know," she replied, "but he _is_ a Jedi..."

The stranger looked over his shoulder with a furtive glance.

"Make your decision quickly" he said with a desperate expression on his face. "They are near, I can sense it".

-"Alright, hide by the hyperdrive. We'll deal with this" Lira said quickly.

The Jedi picked up the fallen metal grate and took it with him in the ship.

A few moments later a door at the far end of the hangar opened. A man in a grey costume with a dark blue cape entered the room, followed by several rough-looking soldiers carrying Mandalorian blaster rifles.

"If you're going to lie to those people, you had better do it well..." Jorian whispered in Lira's ear.

With the ominous sound of their heavy boots echoing through the hangar, the soldiers and their leader approached the _Sparrow_.

"I apologize for the delay, there have been... troubles with one of the prisoners. My name is Anrol Quie. I function as warden here at the Caffar Abyss."

He was a tall, imposing figure with a harsh and expressionless face. Quie extended a hand and Lira shook it warily.

"Lira Fireglance, captain of the _Soaring Sparrow_. And this is my co-pilot Jorian Modd".

Jorian nodded with an expression that showed he was not interested in any further courtesies.

"Right," Quie said, "let's sign for that cargo of yours. Of course, I'd like to see if everything is in order first".

-"That's no problem, mister Quie... However, first I'd like to discuss the contract you promised us."

Something vaguely resembling a smile reached Anrol Quie's mouth, but not his eyes.

"I promised you a contract _if _your first delivery went according to plan."

Lira stared into Quie's cold eyes ponderingly.

"Fair enough" she said after a moment.

-"Excellent" Quie replied. "My soldiers will unload the cargo and I'll inspect it."

Lira threw a quick glance towards Jorian. "Er... no!" she exlaimed.

Quie raised a single eyebrow.

"We... like to provide full service" explained Jorian calmly. "After all, your men have more important duties than unloading fifty boxes of prison food ingredients, I'm sure".

-"Very well" Quie replied. "You may bring the boxes to the storage room at level 4".

With a sharp turn, he left, shortly followed by his men.

As soon as they were out of hearing distance, Lira went back up the ramp of her ship.

"Thanks a lot, Jorian! Now we can do all the work ourselves!" she complained.

-"You were the one who wanted to protect the Jedi..." Jorian cast back with that annoyingly irrefutable logic of his.

Lira swallowed a sarcastic reply and made for the engine room of the _Sparrow_. There she found the Jedi, sitting by the hyperdrive with a friendly expression. Lira half expected him to say something like "welcome to my humble abode".

She looked at him. "Well?"

-"Well what?"

Lira rolled her eyes. "Well, who the hell are you and what are you doing aboard my ship?"

-"Oh. I'll explain later. You better get back into space as soon as possible. I suggest you make for Tatooine. They'll never come looking for us there".

After he had said those words, the Jedi closed his eyes and went into meditation.

Lira stared at him with an indignant expression for about ten seconds until she decided it was futile to get into an argument with a Jedi, so then she decided to just ask him a perfectly reasonable question.

"You do realize that "as soon as possible" is right after we have delivered our cargo, don't you?"

The Jedi smiled with his eyes closed.

"Of course. You should fulfil your duties... But I wouldn't sign any contract with Anrol Quie."

-"I do what I want to do. I'm not your Padawan, mister" exclaimed Lira peevishly.

Jorian entered the room.

"Wait a moment, Lira. If this Jedi knows something about Anrol Quie, perhaps we should listen to him."

The Jedi opened his eyes.

"You know... we are losing valuable time... and it _is _harder to meditate for me if you keep interrupting."

Jorian held up his hand to keep Lira from launching into a speech of protest.

"At least tell us why we shouldn't sign for a contract with Anrol Quie."

-"Well, first of all, he's an unscrupulous man without a shred of conscience... but I presume you've worked for people like that before?"

Lira and Jorian nodded in unison.

"Well, the second and most important reason would be... I need you both for other purposes. Believe me, you won't have much time to work for mister Quie in the near future" the Jedi said. "Not much at all..." he added, widening his eyes expressively.

-"What!" Lira yelled, full of anger. "Who the hell do you think you are, "master Jedi"? We're not joining you on some... quest! We've got a living to make!"

The Jedi sighed. "When we get to my hideout on Tatooine, I'll pay you both 50,000 credits... _and _I'll introduce you to some decent employers if you help me on my quest. Does that sound alright?"

Jorian closed Lira's mouth.

"That sounds, ideal, master Jedi..."


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Nothing was as heartbreaking as the sight of a helpless parent, Jedi Master Relon Tide thought as he entered the luxurious hallway, closing the bedroom door behind him. He swallowed, working up the courage to look the queen into the eye again. She stared at him.

"Is there nothing you can do?" she queried of him with a desperate look in her eyes.

-"Your son's suffering is... beyond my understanding, you highness" Relon admitted. "I'm... so sorry".

The queen broke down in tears. As Relon put his hand on her shoulder, he cast a glance back to the bedroom where the little prince lay dying. Perhaps one thing was worse to behold than the broken-hearted mother. There were some things even a wise Jedi Master, with all his knowledge of the Force, could not explain.

Who was Relon Tide to explain why a gifted and promising young prince should be plagued by a terrible, mysterious disease for which no cure could be found?

Who was he to understand the will of the Force at times like these, let alone explain it to a parent about to bury her own child? Relon Tide realized there was nothing more he could do here. He gently took his hand off the queen's shoulder. Slowly he continued down the hallway, his head bowed.

Upon exiting the hallway, he found himself in a white marble veranda, overlooking a labyrinth of hedges that stretched out for many miles under the warm sunset.

Sometimes, life as a Jedi Knight was a lot like queen Alithwa's garden, he thought. It all seemed so glorious and beautiful looking at it from a distance, but once inside, the view was just as restricting, just as confusing as that labyrinth before him.

"You cannot save prince Loron, Master Tide" said a deep, crispy voice behind his back. Relon Tide turned around to face a man with a long blue face in an oxblood velvet robe, leaning on a tall, black staff.

-"And you shouldn't, Raxa Maal" he hissed.

The queen's counseler grinned sardonically. "Explain _that_ to the queen..." he said.

"Queen Alithwa knows better than to trust the judgement of a man of your reputation" Relon answered.

Raxa Maal raised his eyebrows. "It's a wonder she still keeps me around then, don't you think?" he answered in a silken tone.

-"If you can save the boy, you must. But I _am _watching you, Raxa..."

Raxa Maal studied the older Jedi's features with amused arrogance.

"All I intend to do is save the prince, my friend... You may watch me as much as you want..."

Relon Tide opened his eyes. Something had shaken him out of his memory - a loud sound, as if a heavy object had hit the hull of the ship. He got up and made for the _Soaring Sparrow_'s cockpit. The door was open, and when he got close he could overhear part of a conversation between the captain and her co-pilot.

"Weren't _you _the one who said "but he IS a Jedi"?" Jorian asked rhetorically.

-"You know, you don't usually pay so much attention to everything I say!"

There was the sound of a restrained chuckle. "No, only if I can use it against you..."

-"Look..." Lira started, "we've got him on board, we delivered the cargo, we didn't sign the contract with Quie, our decision has been made and there's no point in arguing anymore about it."

Relon decided it was time for him to make his presence known. "And you chose well, believe me" he said with cool, Jedi-like confidence.

"Shouldn't you be meditating right now?" Lira asked. The Jedi took a few steps towards the control board and inspected it while responding.

-"Well, yes, but something disturbed me. Did we get hit?"

There was a moment of quiet embarrassment until Jorian answered. "Not really. Well, not by anyone else, at least."

Relon Tide raised his eyebrows. "We got hit by ourselves?"

"We lost a bit of equipment, nothing serious" Lira explained. 'The ship was already damaged before we landed on Caffar. Apparently our communications dish wasn't very firmly attached anymore".

-"And the winds of Caffar blew it off" Jorian concluded.

"Oh, I see..." Relon answered. "So we can't... communicate with anyone else anymore?"

-"You know, master Jedi, you're asking a lot of questions... Maybe we're entitled to pose some of our own?" replied Lira in an impatient tone.

"Of course you are" Relon answered. "Ask away".

-"Well... first of all, we'd like to know your name".

The Jedi nodded. "Jedi Master Relon Tide" he said. "But you may call me Master Tide if you wish" he added with a smile.

-"How did you wind up in the prisons of Caffar?" Jorian asked.

Relon Tide sighed. "Not a very happy story, I'm afraid..."

"You promised it to me, your majesty..." Raxa Maal said through gritted teeth, kneeling before the throne of queen Alithwa, "... if I could heal your son you would make me your representative in the Republic Senate. And now this - this _Jedi_ comes accusing me of..."

Queen Alithwa raised an eyebrow at the disgust with which Raxa Maal used the word _Jedi_. She glanced at Relon Tide who stood besides her. Relon had been there by her side since he had lost his Padawan braid. For over thirty years he had guided her with wisdom, understanding and precision... and he had never failed her. The queen raised her hand to silence her counsellor.

"Raxa Maal... When an ally as trusted to me as Master Relon Tide believes - beyond reasonable doubt - that you have indeed studied and _used_ the Dark Side of the Force on several occasions, I will believe him. I ask only one thing of you - an explanation".

Raxa Maal sighed and bowed his head. He remained still for a while, and when he looked up again to face the queen, Relon noticed a cold, quiet conviction in his features. He felt uneasy, knowing that it was at times like these that Raxa Maal was at his most dangerous.

"Your Majesty... I am not a Jedi. I am but a man with some... elementary skill in the Force. I will not deny that I feel envy... frustration even about that. To be given but the beginning of a great gift is worse than to be given nothing at all. I am no Jedi. I am but a citizen of Neron who felt the need of his beloved queen and her good son. I saw how Master Tide - talented as he is, no doubt - failed to cure your son... And so, yes... I turned to an alternative. It may not have been the most pleasant of choices, but if I had not learned about the healing powers of the Dark Side... I am sorry, your Majesty, but your son would have been dead now".

-"The Dark Side cannot heal, Raxa Maal, and you know this!" Relon interfered with great authority in his otherwise gentle voice.

A smug grin slowly blossomed on Raxa Maal's blue face. "Oh? ... Explain to me then how the prince is now breathing clearly and sleeping soundly without feverish nightmares waking him every night? He _is _on the mend, Master Tide...whether _you_ like it or not".

The queen frowned indignantly. "Whether _he _likes it or not? Are you accusing Master Tide of wishing my son dead, Raxa Maal?"

Her stern, pale face expressed great strength, but also impatience. Raxa Maal knew how to deal with this.

"My queen..." he started, "much as it grieves me to say this... I do recall Master Tide suggesting to me that I should not heal your son, before he ever knew what methods I would be using".

Queen Alithwa turned to Relon. "Is this true, Master Tide?"

Relon Tide remained undisturbed and stoic. "'Yes, it is. Of course it is" he said.

"Why?" the queen asked in a tone that demanded only a _very _good explanation.

-"Because I felt the Dark Side around Raxa Maal and his intentions, your majesty".

"And yet..." Raxa Maal said deviously, "I have cured your son, and is he not better now?"

-"But for what reasons did you cure prince Loron, Maal? Out of love for the royal family and the planet of Neron? Or to achieve your own, selfish ambitions?" Relon Tide asked rhetorically.

Raxa Maal's eyes burned. "And for what reason did you try to stop me from curing the prince, Master Jedi? Out of personal hatred for me? Or because if you were unable to save him, no one else should? Because of your misplaced sense of pride you would have risked a young man's death?"

Relon Tide felt anger rising within him. Raxa Maal was trying him, tempting him, luring him to just one quick outburst of anger or hatred. To expressing but one small sign of the Dark Side. Relon swallowed and remained motionless.

"Well?" Raxa Maal said defiantly, as if it was now Relon who was on trial instead of Maal himself.

Relon Tide did not respond. Instead he just looked in the queen's eye with an expression that said "surely you know me too well to believe what he says".

There was a long silence.

Eventually, the queen said: "I will not guess anyone's deeper intentions or desires, for that is not my part. Relon Tide, I do not suspect you of harbouring any ill will towards either my son or myself, but I am not blind to your deep aversion to Raxa Maal. However... As I find no proof of evil intentions in Raxa Maal, I will not send him from my sight. In fact, I will keep him under closer observation..."

-"But my queen, your promise..." Raxa Maal interrupted.

"Silence!" the queen said harshly. "Queen Alithwa is true to her word, but above all, true to the Republic. If you can prove that you bear no evil intentions and if you do not _ever_ again attempt to use the Dark Side of the Force, I will appoint you as senator. In the mean time, you will be watched... by Master Tide".

The queen stood up from her throne, which meant there was no more argument. Her royal guardians escorted her out of the throne room. Raxa Maal stood up and faced Relon Tide, who was still standing still and emotionless.

Maal took a step towards the Jedi and looked him in the eye with restrained hatred.

"I will be your undoing, Relon Tide..." he grunted in a dark, gravely tone.


End file.
